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Saturday, September 13, 2008

Quote Of The Day

"I’m starting to wonder: is the Barack Obama campaign grossly mishandling the Sarah Palin vice presidential nomination? Suddenly, it seems like Obama is running against Palin. Shouldn’t Obama be focused on John McCain? I mean, I know the guy’s old but, as long as he’s healthy, Palin will likely be no more than a glorified goodwill ambassador, just like most VPs before her. Is it worth taking the heat off of McCain in order to delegitimize someone who will likely have very little power? When you think about it, Obama isn’t well served by running against Palin. Anytime the experience issue is brought up when comparing the two politicians, McCain wins. Why? Because voters are going to be much more willing to accept inexperience from a vice president than they are from the president. Highlighting Palin’s inexperience just serves to call into question Obama’s own experience. Plus, there is nothing 'presidential' about a presidential nominee going after the other party’s vice presidential nominee. I think it makes Obama look a little petty and ill-focused. Joe Biden is supposed to be Obama’s attack dog. Not the other way around. If the strategy of attacking Palin early and often was working, then I’d understand why Obama’s campaign has focused so much attention on her. But it’s not working. McCain/Palin are in the lead. I fully understand the desire and need to vet Palin and counter the misstatements about her record. That’s fine. But I’m noticing Obama and his legion of supporters (notably on the blogs) taking their eye off the ball. Palin is not the story. McCain is the story. No matter how many compelling reasons there may be not to vote for Palin, no one will actually vote for her. They’ll vote for McCain. This is one of the big reasons why McCain gambled on his VP choice. To mix things up and throw Obama off his game. So far, it seems to be working." — Alan Stewart Carl, moderate blogger and undecided voter, on Donklephant blog